RAW Review- 8th September

After the worst Season Finale in TV History we were back with the "Season Premiere" of RAW. With the previous season dating from 1993-2014 you had to wonder how the new season would change the product. After last weeks abomination I had very little in the way of expectations for this edition of the "Longest Weekly Episodic TV Show" but given it was their "Season Premiere" you had to expect some fireworks. Besides it couldn't be worse than last week right? RIGHT?!

Chris Jericho v Bray Wyatt
If I had unlimited time I'd go back into all the previous RAWs and work out the last time a Match opened the show (if someone does know can they tell me), this made the opening of the show refreshing off the bat. Someone (genuinely can't remember) on Twitter during the match said this was Jericho's last appearance in his current run, although I thought he was going through until Night of Champions the manner in which the match played out means I'm inclined to believe this. Firstly, I loved the match.,For me it was the best RAW match since CM Punk v Cena in the build up to Wrestlemania 29. I loved the way they ended it with Bray sliding over the top of Jericho, which enabled Jericho to still look strong with Bray going over, Take Note Cena. The flying crossbody from Jericho was a memorable spot for Jericho to leave on- and the knee injury is a good way to facilitate it. I would assume Jericho won't be back soon- at the earliest in the build to Mania. Although the Orton attack was unnecessary- as in my opinion it should of been Bray who should of been able to solely take credit for vanquishing Jericho. Overall this 20-25 minute match was better than the last 6 hours of the two preceding RAWs.

Dolph, Miz, Mizdow segment
Why? Why does WWE feel the need to "hip" and do up to date pop culture references in such a childish way? I don't see why they felt the need to do this as... well... what did it accomplish other than a cheap laugh? I wanted Miz to go to a gimmick similar to "Dashing" Cody Rhodes after he lost the belt but instead he's been relegated to childish jokes. Although Sandow copying all of Miz's mannerisms/gestures made the segment worth it.

AJ Lee and Paige v Rosa and Natalya
Why is Rosa Mendes suddenly relevant again? They're playing up the Natalya-Rosa angle despite the fact they dated the episode to just after Wrestlemania meaning they're feuding over something which happened roughly 4 and a half Months ago. AJ slapping Paige on the boob was unintentionally hilarious, and the aftermath didn't do much for me- but I'm hoping they give them a solid build for the match next week as the Bella story will intertwine with it.

Paul Heyman, John Cena Promo
Breaking News: Paul Heyman is awesome. At the risk of sounding like a Broken Record Heyman is one of/the most interesting character on TV currently- and in recent memory. The promo from Heyman was sublime, and if a lot (I Mean A LOT) of things fell into place Cena becoming a Heyman Guy would be very compelling TV.

I always read over the summaries of RAW just to make sure I haven't forgotten anything and skim through the comments, however it seems I'm in a minority of 1 who actually liked the Cena promo. Firstly I think people are going Over the Top with the "Ermahgerd He Buried The Undertaker" train of thought. What he was trying to do (at least in my opinion) was put over how much of a monster Lesnar is, and how a man regarded by many as the toughest man in the business was destroyed by Lesnar. Yes he said he was back the next week etc. but that fits with his "Never Give Up" mantra so I didn't mind it. I didn't even mind the "Sick Children Wounded Soldier" bit of his promo as he legitimately seems to care about them with the number of Make-a-Wishes he does, although I do agree it was a bit over the top the amount of time he spent on that aspect of his promo. Overall this segment was very good in my opinion and sold the angle really well.

Sheamus v Seth Rollins
Rollins does seem to be treading water a bit at the moment. Although I understand everyone can't be pushed to the moon at the same time- I thought Rollins would do something a little bit more meaningful match wise given how he's been booked in previous weeks. The Cesaro-Sheamus feud should of been grown organically in my opinion as these two (from what I've read and heard) are friends in the back so they would know how to get the best out of each other, and I'll reiterate if Cesaro and Sheamus are given time they could easily steal the show at Night of Champions.

Lana, Rusev Promo
What was the point? At least have Rusev squash someone or something. I didn't even hear that many boos from the crowd- this was just a pointless segment.

Tyson Kidd and Tyler Breeze v Sami Zayn and Adrian Neville
I went to bed just before this segment because I thought there was nothing worth watching. What these four delivered was a refreshing tag match that was clearly put in because they "just" needed to fill a 5 minute segment, and they were going in cold with the majority of the audience and they (especially Neville) won the crowd over in the very short window they were allocated. If this match had taken place on either of the two RAWs preceding it- it would've been Match of the Night. Admittedly I'm a mark for all four of these guys because (especially in Zayn and Breeze's case) I've followed them from Day 1 in NXT and prior. I've also been aware of Adrian Neville/PAC for ages being a Brit who's into wrestling.

I've had a long-standing thought for the Pre-Show matches at Pay-Per-Views to be for the NXT Championship- or just a general NXT match. I first thought we were going to get Cesaro-Zayn on the PPV after Arrival because of the buzz around both guys, but this 5 minute match was a giant step for NXT- and I hope we get a 10minute segment on RAW for two NXTers to have a match every week and get themselves over slowly, preferably different guys as often as possible.

One thing you have to admit (whether you like him or not) is Triple H understands Wrestling. What he's done with Developmental is sublime, to the point every star going up to the Main Roster you think they'll make waves. But then Vince and Kevin Dunn give them a Pink Cobra or job them to Cena. The one fear I do have for the NXTers is Vince/Dunn start getting hands on with the NXT talent and before we know it they'll be Sandow'd.

Jerry Springer-Bellas Segment
No, Just No.

Stardust and Goldust v Los Matadores
This match was perfectly serviceable for what it was- a vehicle to get the Rhodes brothers over in a convincing way, the Uso attack after was a nice touch- although with the consummate babyface way they've been booked as of late it didn't really fit their characters in my opinion. Cody Rhodes is absolutely brilliant, he's had so many "gear changes" since he's debuted and he's made all of them work, and I hope once the Stardust character runs its course he moves into the upper echelons of WWE and becomes WWEWHC.

Adam Rose v Titus O'Neill
If the NXT Tag Match was Triple H, this was Vince McMahon. Childish jokes and just being generally awful. I'm also 99.9% sure the Bunny is Justin Gabriel which is awful considering the athletic ability he has.
At least Rose's winning streak on RAW is still in tact.

Roman Reigns v Randy Orton
*sigh* This is still way too early for Reigns to be Main Eventing in a Singles Capacity. It was pretty clear Orton was carrying him from the word go. Whilst Reigns is pretty good- he's nowhere near ready for the way they're booking him and they should of protected him a lot more than what they have done as of now.

One thing that really annoyed me about this segment is; Reigns beat Orton at Summerslam, Reigns got the better of Rollins and Kane in that Eulogy thing. So why is Reigns now finding it difficult to cope with them? I understand story telling but at least treat the audience with a modicum of respect.

Overall this was a much better RAW than the previous two weeks, I would of said a million times better- but 1,000,000x0=0. Thanks again for reading Feedback is very much appreciated- even if you think I'm wrong give me something in order to improve future blogs. Thanks again.